Movie Costumes: Elizabeth – The Virgin Queen, a School paper

I am in no mood to write today, for personal reasons, but I will still leave you with somthing to read. This is a paper I wrote for my Fashion Phenomena class, which I took in Fall of 2008.

Here were the instructions for the paper:

Movie report

Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen (1998) OR Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Both directed by Shekhar Kapur, and with Cate Blanchet as Queen Elizabeth.

After seeing one of the above movies, please do the following :

a) Give a short summary of the plot – half a page maximum.
b) Choose 3 different costumes (garment) in the movie, belonging to a minimum
of 2 different characters (they can’t all be Elizabeth!) include a picture from
the movie, and give a complete description, using the appropriate terminology
c) From another source, and for each costume you have chosen, you must find
or draw an historically accurate illustration depicting this type of garment, give
a complete description using the appropriate terminology, and comment on the
accuracy of costume in movie.
d) please make sure to include references for all your written and photo sources.

I choose to do my report on Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen as I own the DVD. So here is what I wrote.

MOVIE REPORT
ELIZABETH – THE VIRGIN QUEEN

The Movie

Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen (1998)

Set in 16th century England, this movie tells of the young Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne and her early years as Queen.

The movie begins in 1554, when Mary is still queen of England. She is believed to be pregnant and is fighting Protestants as best she can by burning some at the stake. In the political world, whispers speak of a movement to replace the Queen with her half-sister, Elizabeth. Then 21 years old, the young Elizabeth is arrested on suspicion of treason and taken to the Tower of London to be interrogated. Her sister Mary, then Queen of England believes that her sister is planning to take her place as Queen. In fact, all the young Elizabeth seems to care about is dancing and enjoying her country life with her ladies in waiting and her lover, Sir Robert Dudley. One night, she is taken to a very ill Mary who wishes her sister’s promise that if she becomes Queen, she will uphold the Catholic faith, but Elizabeth can only promise to do as her conscience dictates.

Mary will let Elizabeth live, but under house arrest at Hatfield house, where she will learn of the Queen’s death to a cancerous tumour in her uterus. Eleven days later, Elizabeth is crowned Queen of England.

In her early years as Queen, Elizabeth rules more from the heart than from the head. She is unsure and makes mistakes. She declares war to Mary of Guise, Queen Consort of James V of Scotland, mother of the future Mary, Queen of Scots and Regent of the country. Her advisers are also pushing for her to marry so that she produces an heir. To content them, she agrees to have the Duc d’Anjou visit her in England to court her, but her heart still belongs to Dudley. Lord Robert even asks for her hand, but she later learns that he is already married and is so saddened by the news, she banishes him from her private presence. Meanwhile, D’Anjou keeps pushing her for a response. One night, as he does not show up for dinner, she visits him in his apartments where she finds him wearing a dress. Her refusal comes soon after.

All these trials and tribulations make Elizabeth tougher and she slowly transforms into a ruthless ruler. With her new right-hand man Walshingham, she orders the execution of those she sees as a threat to her rule, including Mary of Guise whom Walshingham assassinates personally, stopping an assassination plot that began in Rome with the Pope’s benediction.

In the end, she looks upon a statue of the Virgin Mary and decides to become like her, a virgin and a ruler of men’s heart.

The next time we see her, she has become Queen Elizabeth the first, the virgin Queen, married to no man, but to England itself.

Elizabeth’s Coronation Dress

Cate Blanchet as Queen Elizabeth I, Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen (1998)

The costume designer for this movie, Alexandra Byrne, chose to make Elizabeth’s Coronation Dress as close to Elizabeth the First’s portrait of the event as possible. As such, Cate Blanchet (who portrays the young Elizabeth in the movie) is outfitted with a gold tone on tone jacquard gown patterned with English roses. The dress features the characteristic squared neck bodice and cartridge pleated skirt. She also wears double-layered cloak: the long cloak is of the same material as the gown and lined with ermine while the second layer is entirely made of ermine. The cloak is fastened with a gold coloured rope finished with tassels. She is also wearing a partlet and a double-layered neck ruff. In other scenes, we can see her smock, or shift, peaking at the cuffs of the dress, which are closely fitted with a series of 10 buttons, as well as the lace around the neckline of her undergarment once the partlet has been taken off. The shape of the skirt when she is standing also suggests that she is wearing a bumroll and a pleated petticoat. Her jewellery includes earrings, necklace and state chain. She also wears a crown and carries a sceptre and orb. Her hair is loose as it was the traditional hair-do for queens at their coronation.

Artist Unknown. “Coronation portrait of Elizabeth I of England”. 1600-1610 copy of a lost original of c. 1559.

The portrait of Elizabeth’s coronation is said to be a copy made in 1600 of the lost 1559 painting. The artist is unknown. The outfit is painted here was well copied by Alexandra Byrne. Still, there are a few differences. The bodice seems very pointed in the front and not at all squared, which can be attributed to the new fashion of the time this copy was made. The cuffs of the sleeves have both ruffs and ermine and no buttons. The cloak seams to be of only one layer, with a large ermine collar instead of the two layered one shown in the film. The jewellery painted features a lot more colour than the one in the movie, but that could e a trick of light. Lastly, the Queen wears no earrings in the painting.

Although buttoned down sleeves were more popular in the 14th century and double layered cloaks were mostly worn by men, one would have to say that this gown is, for the most part, historically accurate.

Elizabeth’s Queen Dress

Cate Blanchet as Queen Elizabeth I, Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen (1998)

Queen Elizabeth knew how to dress and she dressed to impress. She used fashion to express a sense of generosity and wealth (all the while keeping her actual spending relatively low by reusing parts of old gowns in new ones) for which her people compared her to a goddess. In the movie, once Elizabeth decides to become the Virgin Queen History has known, she literally transforms. She cuts her hair short and begins wearing wigs as well as the white lead base make-up so typical of her reign. Here she wears a silver-white silk satin damask French gown with an opened over skirt and shoulder rolls. Her bombasted sleeves are embroidered to match the forepart of her underskirt, while the coat sleeves are made to match the gown. She also wears a very wide closed ruff trimmed with lace. The conical shape of the dress when she walks up to her throne tells us she is wearing a Spanish farthingale with a bumroll and petticoat. The entire outfit is decorated with silver bows, pearls and glass cabochons. She wears numerous pearl necklaces and huge teardrop pearl earrings. Her hair is also decorated with pearls. Pearls were very popular in the 16th century.

George Gower. “The Armada Portrait”. The Tudor Place. C. 1588.

The dress worn in the movie was clearly based upon the one worn by the Queen in “The Armada Portrait”, a painting commissioned to commemorate the 1588 defeat of the Spanish Armada. Although there are many versions of this portrait, the one showed here is by George Gower. Although the colours are different (the movie’s was silver and white to convey a sense of purity and virginity), it is the same dress.

This makes the movie dress very historically accurate... for the 1580’s. But the movie presents the events that shaped the young Elizabeth. At the end of the movie, we are told that she reigned for another 40 years. As she died in 1603, the movie cannot end later than 1563. For the early 1560’s, it is highly inaccurate.

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester

Joseph Fiennes as Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I, Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen (1998)

Robert Dudley, as played by Joseph Fiennes, is presented as the Queen’s lover and a bit of a ladies’ man. Although the real Robert Dudley was also known this way, he would have never been caught dead in most of what we see his movie version wear. The first time we see Dudley, he arrives on a white horse (the real Dudley was after all the Queen’s Master of the Horse) like the proverbial “Prince Charming”, with one of Elizabeth’s ladies in waiting. He is wearing nether hose or breeches that seem made of leather, a belt, nether stocks, riding boots and gloves and a linen shirt highly decorated with drawn thread work, worn opened on his chest.

Artist Unknown. “Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester”. Oil on panel. 110 x 80 cm. At Waddesdon, The Rothschild Collection. c.1564.

In this 1564 portrait by an unknown artist, Robert Dudley wears light blue doublet with shoulder wings and skirting, decorated with gold trim and fastened down the front with gold buttons. He also wears breeches and a codpiece. His sleeves, breeches and codpiece match the doublet’s fabric and decoration. A ruff peaks out from the high neckline of the doublet’s standing collar, just as ruffs decorate both cuffs of the sleeves. His head is adorned with a black jewelled and feathered cap, his neck with a necklace, and on his waist, he sports a leather baldric that hold a pouch, a rapier and a dagger. Although we cannot see it, he is most likely wearing a shirt under his doublet, as well as some nether stocks and boots or shoes. Now there is an outfit fit for a gentleman.

It is not that the clothes worn by Robert Dudley in the film are not historically accurate; simply that he is missing a few pieces. No gentleman would go out without a doublet and a cap of some sort. It simply would not have been proper. The movie Dudley always seems to dress down for the occasion instead of dressing up as a man of his rank should.

Mediagraphy

Books

ARNOLD, Janet. Patterns of Fashion – The cut and construction of clothes for men and women c.1560-1620. Macmillan Publisher Ltd, London, 1985, 128 pages.

MIKHAILA, Ninya and Jane MALCOLM-DAVIES. The Tudor Tailor: Reconstructing 16th-Century Dress. Costume & Fashion Press, Hollywood, 2006, 160 pages.

Movie

KAPUR, Shekhar, Elizabeth, Polygram Filmed Entertainment, UK, 1998, Colour, English, 124 min.

Websites

ANDERSON, Margo. Elizabethan Costume: History and Technique, consulted on October 19, 2008.

Elizabeth (1998), The Internet Movie Database, consulted on October 19, 2008.

Elizabeth (film), Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, consulted on October 19, 2008.

The Costumer’s Guide to Movie Costumes, consulted on October 19, 2008.

The Elizabethan Costuming Page, consulted on October 19, 2008.

The Tudors: Elizabeth - Portrait of a Queen, History on the Net, consulted on October 19, 2008.

There you have it. I got 100% for this paper you know. So I hope you enjoyed my analysis, and hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better and I'll be writing something new instead.

Kagemusha: 16th century Japanese Garb

Instead of watching Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) for a third time in a row (what, did you think my latest Japanese phase was over? ), I decided to watch a classic Japanese movie instead (which I found in my Sweetheart's DVD pile while looking for something else): Kagemusha (1980) by Akira Kurosawa. The French translation is awful, but the cinematography is magnificent.

Kagemusha (1980)

Did I ever mention that during my Film Study Major, I was in charge of Cinematography for my team's movie? Well I was (I would have preferred the job of costume designer, but it was already taken). I was taking photography classes at the time and as I came from an Art DEC, I had an eye for composition that most of my other team members didn't. By the way, our movie "Un Homme Ordinaire" won both prizes it was eligible to win at the end of year Gala.

Kagemusha (1980) - Dream Sequence

Back to Kagemusha: the movie is set in 16th century Japan and is inspired by Takeda Shingen, a warlord who died in 1573, though the events depicted after his death are fiction written by the movie's director. The story tells of a lower-class criminal who is taught to impersonate a dying warlord in order to dissuade opposing lords from attacking the newly vulnerable clan. The costumes, designed by Seiichiro Hagakusawa are inspired by the clothes worn by the Warrior class in the Azuchi -Momoyama period (1568–1603).

Sadly enough, my Costume History classes in Fashion school did not include foreign fashion; it was focused on Western clothing only. While I do understand the time constraint issue in trying to go through thousands of years of fashion in one or two semesters, the fact remains that Costume History classes are meant to help you recognize certain styles in modern trends (or at least this is how my teacher put it) and these trends will every so often be inspired by foreign fashion, whether in the print of the fabric or in the cut of clothes. I am not blaming my teacher here (I like her too much for that), but the program, which I believe needs to be revised a little.

So I will try to fill in the gap a little.

Kagemusha (1980)

So what did a warrior wear in the Azuchi -Momoyama period? When at home, the warrior lord might wear a Suo, a short coat not unlike a Hitatare, and Hakama, pleated pants. The fashion of the time called for men to shave the top of their heads and for the hair to be tied up into a small Mage (bun like piece of hair in the back). This hairstyle is called Sakayaki.

Statue of Takeda Shingen, Daimyo of Sengoku (1521-1573) in Suo and Hakama - Front View

Statue of Takeda Shingen, Daimyo of Sengoku (1521-1573) in Suo and Hakama - Back View

Kagemusha (1980)

In the movie, we also see quite a few men dressed in Kosode, a Kimono like garment with smaller sleeves, Hakama and Katiginu, a sleeveless jacket.

Comparison between a Kosode and a modern day Kimono, from Wikimedia Commons

The Kosode, literally meaning "small sleeves" was worn by both men and women. It first appeared as an undergarment during the Heian period (794 - 1185), but during the period studied here, it was worn as an outer garment as well.

Warrior General in Kataginu and Hakama - Front View

Warrior General in Kataginu and Hakama - Back View

Kagemusha (1980)

The movie also has a few scenes with women, mainly concubines. The first time the Kagemusha (Shingen's double) meets the concubines, two of them serve him dinner and each displays a different style. By the way one of them is played by Kaori Momoi, who plays Mother in Memoirs of a Geisha, but I have no idea which one she is.

Women of the upper warrior cast wore floor length Kosode, often a couple layers of them, held close by thin hoso-obi belts, and an Uchikake coat. The hairstyle, called Suberakashi, is worn straight and long, except for two short pieces on either side of the face which are cut short; these are called binsogi no kami. Fashion of the time required women to pluck out or shave their eyebrows. These were redrawn higher on the forehead.

In the picture showing the concubines, the one on the left wears her Uchikake hanging from her shoulders as such:

Woman of the upper warrior class in ceremonial dress, with Uchikake outer-garment - Front View

Woman of the upper warrior class in ceremonial dress, with Uchikake outer-garment - Back View

The concubine to Shingen's right wears her Uchikake wrapped around the waist, in the summer fashion.

Woman of the upper warrior class in formal costume for summer, with Uchikake wrapped around the waist - Front View

Woman of the upper warrior class in formal costume for summer, with Uchikake wrapped around the waist - Back View

And there you have it: a little overview of the costumes in Kagemusha. Of course, I did not include armour, as I am no expert on the subject, nor did I mention the clothes worn by the peasants.

If you would like more information on 16th century Japanese fashion, there are plenty of web pages on the subject, many of them by SCAdians as the SCA accepts any culture as long as it is pre-17th century. The one I recommend is Woderford Hall by Lisa Joseph.

For those of you who might want to make yourselves a Japanese costume, here is a little gift: Free Patterns! I found the links on Lisa Joseph's page The Kosode: a Japanese garment for the SCA period (on which she also explains how to make one).

To make a Hitatare, go to: http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/katchu/graphics/patterns/hitatare.PDF?43,13
To make Hakama, got to: http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/katchu/graphics/patterns/hakama1.PDF?58,15

The Hakama pattern will be especially useful if you also like to do Anime Cosplay.

By the way, all of the statuette pictures came from the Kyoto Costume Museum (not to be mistaken with the Kyoto Costume Institute). They have a very large collection pictures of statuettes dressed in the garb of different eras of Japan, from prehistory to modern times. Each costume is very well described with words in Japanese and their literal meaning in English. It is an incredible resource.

I guess I have one more reason to want to go to Kyoto!

16th century Gentleman

I don't know about you, but I like to make myself a new outfit for every event if I can, but my Sweetheart only had his Purple Elizabethan ensemble, and I wanted to make him some more. So for Christmas/Yule 2007, when he said he wanted his present to be something I had made from material I already had, This is what I came up with:

Blue-Gray 16th Century outfit

It is made from the same pattern as his Purple Elizabethan ensemble, except that the sleeves are not slit on top. The pants are also made differently: each leg is a rectangle piece with a piece cut out at the center top (for the crotch) and pleated into the waist band and knee cuffs.

But here is the funny anecdotal part of the story: the fabric I used served as a Christmas present for two boyfriends, five years apart. Originally, I had bought the fabric to make curtain for my Ex's apartment. I just wrapped the fabric up and gave it to him for Christmas 2002, and he then left it with me so I could make said curtains. A month later, our relationship came to an ugly end.

A few months later, I met my Sweetheart. I offered to make him curtains for his apartment, for his office window, for his dad's new place. I tried to convince him it would make a nice slip-cover for the futon. Nothing worked. So when I used it for his garb, I thought I was very clever! And although my Grand-father made a few remarks when the present was unwrapped, he loved it.

My Sweetheart, Fall Harvest 2008

Doesn't he look good? I meant to make him a white shirt to wear with it, but I never got around to it, so he wears the off-white shirt I made him to go with his Purple Elizabethan ensemble.

As that is what he wants to wear tomorrow, at this year's Fall Harvest, I though I would tell you about it today. I still have to make-up my mind about what I will wear though...

An Elizabethan Gentleman

There is less than a week before Fall Harvest, Barony of l'Île du Dragon Dormant's autumn event, and I, your favorite Costumeholic, is in charge of Arts & Sciences, that is anything that is not Martial Arts. I will be teaching classes (Irish Dancing and T-Tunic making) and running an A&S display.

With my Baby keeping busy, I haven't had time to make anything new to wear (*sigh*), but it's OK. The one great thing about being addicted to costumes is you end up having enough to pick from for any occasion, just like a regular wardrobe (actually, costumes take up the most part of my closet).

I'm not the only one in this house who needs to dress for these event: my Sweetheart does too! When I first joined the SCA in 2006 and I dragged him back (he played with them maybe 20 years ago), I asked him what he wanted for to wear to Court. Amazingly enough, he choose late 16th century as his persona's era, and so it is Elizabethan menswear for him.

Charles de Baste, Fall Harvest 2006

Before Fall Harvest 2006, I dragged him to the fabric store to find a brocade he would like and he picked a lovely purple and gold tone brocade with diamond pattern. From it, I made him a Doublet, using McCall's 4695 (i love that pattern, I have used it for myself too; you just have to adjust the darts to fit a feminine figure), and a Tudor Flat Cap, from McCall's 4805 view B. Then, using black panned velvet we had bought the previous year with the intention of making him a Drow costume, I made him sleeves for his Doublet, also using McCall's 4695 (in this case it is view D), and breeches which are really just puffy Bermudas gathered at the waistband and knee cuffs. My Sweetheart choose not to wear a codpiece (I don't blame him!), so the pants' fly simply laces up (this way, I could add a codpiece if he changed his mind, though I doubt he will). I also made him a shirt out of off-white cotton using Butterick 4486.

Of course, I had enough of each fabric to make him a full set, and I have cut the pieces already, I just haven't gotten around to it (actually, I had forgotten about them until I started typing this post).

By the way, I would like to point out that in this first picture, he is actually wearing black tights, which he never did again afterwards. Apparently, he found the seam to be irritating. Nowadays, he wears black leggings under his breaches.

Mórag filia Scayth and Charles de Baste, Feast of the Hare 2006

When I first made the Doublet, I had only used six frog closures to close the front, as the pattern suggested, but my Sweetheart felt that, being that the Doublet is meant to be tight, the gaps in between the frog closures were unattractive. So on our way to Feast of the Hare 2006, while he was driving, I sewed another five frog closures to close each gap. It takes forever to put on, but it looks good!

Side view of Charles de Baste, Feast of the Hare 2006

From the side, you can see how the Doublet's sleeves are tied at the shoulder only.

Back view of Charles de Baste, Feast of the Hare 2006

It's always nice to be able to see a costume from every angle to better understand it.

Mórag filia Scayth and Charles de Baste, Baronial Investiture Anniversary 2008

Another view, without the Doublet sleeves this time. It is a very versatile garment!

(Yes the beard was distinguished, but it also made him look way older, and yes, I have lost weight since then. 25lbs to be exact, and I feel very good about myself, thank you for asking.)

Eventually, I'll finish the pieces I have already cut and he'll have both a full black velvet set and a purple and gold set. What stopped me back then was that I needed to get more experience before tackling the purple and gold breeches as I want to make them paned. Now that'll really be something!